


When Life Happens

by melxncholly



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Wayne is a Good Dad, Bruce adopts Terry, Family Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Robin!Terry AU, bruce isnt like 90 and terrys not 17, in a way? - Freeform, might turn into something longer?, ngl thats my favorite tag ever hes a good dad to all his kids, un-beta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-27 13:37:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12082128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melxncholly/pseuds/melxncholly
Summary: Bruce meets Terry when he's seven, and Warren and Mary McGinnis are dead in an alley.He meets Terry again when he's ten, and trying to shatter the window of his car.In which Bruce Wayne adopts a young Terry McGinnis, and life happens along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> if no one will write the robin!terry au i know is in everyones hearts then by god i will do it myself
> 
> i probably have a lot of other stuff i should be writing, not more kidfic and certainly not kidfic with an Older (but not ancient old) bruce and a ten year old terry mcginnis but terry is my Son and one of my favorite things about batman beyond was his and bruces father/son relationship

The first time Bruce Wayne meets Terry McGinnis, he’s Batman, and Terry’s a little boy who hid himself in between two dirty, grimy walls.

 

Terry’s the scared little boy year old this time, who had to watch his mother and father be gunned down for reasons he doesn’t know, and does not understand. Bruce understands, all too well.

 

He's hidden away, crawled up into the tight space between apartment buildings where its wet, and dirty, and the rats sleeps, and Bruce coaxes Terry out with promises that he’ll be protected. He carries the boy back to Commissioner Gordon, the bodies of Mary and Warren McGinnis already gone. Bruce remembers all too well when he was in the same place as Terry. He’s tempted to take in the boy too, but Bruce is getting older, as Dick points out nearly every time they see each other.

 

And Damian’s handful enough as it is. So he puts his trust in the GCPD and CPS, and maybe, just maybe he’s getting a little soft.

 

The next time he meets Terry McGinnis it’s three years later, it’s as Bruce Wayne. Damian’s seventeen and busy with both college and the Titans, Bruce has a little more grey in his hair, and he’s watching a ten year old trying to break into his car as Bruce is leaving some party he was attending.

 

The sudden wave of nostalgia hits Bruce suddenly, and it’s all strangely familiar to how he first met Jason, that Bruce is half expecting his son to be there.

 

It’s not. Bruce still recognizes Terry, who hasn’t grown much since Bruce watched him ride off in the back of a Social Worker's tiny car. He’s in dirty jeans and and his hair is black and messy and unwashed. It’s so familiar to Jason, but there’s a rock in the kids hand instead of a tire iron, and it’s not the Batmobile but a Rolls Royce.

 

The rock drops from his hands, and Terry bolts, but he’s not fast enough for Bruce, who catches him quickly, an arm wrapped around Terry’s too small waist. Terry struggles, little legs kicking and fists catching Bruce in the head, and he grits his teeth and holds Terry until the boy tires out, or gives up. It could have been both.

 

“Are you done.” Bruce says, his arms slackening. Terry nods slowly, going limp in Bruce’s arms, and he sets the boy down, resisting the urge to brush black hair back.

 

All of his kids are too old for that now, to be fathered by Bruce. But then Bruce thinks if he ever really _was_ a father to them and a heavy guilt settles in his stomach.

 

“What’s your name?” Bruce asks, even though he already knows. He had been keeping an eye on Terry, knows that he had run away from the foster home he was sent to about a year ago, reasons unknown to Bruce. (He’s guessing it has something to do with the system. Gotham’s Foster system was notoriously corrupt, and the few good people were weighed down by the bad). Bruce frowns to himself, that it took so long to find him, and now that he has, it was purely incidental.

 

“Terry.” Terry says, kicking a rock with his foot. He shoves his hands into his pockets, and shiver slightly. The threadbare jacket he’s wearing doesn’t fight off the night and early spring chill, and Bruce shrugs off his own dress jacket and places it over Terry’s shoulders.

 

The boy looks up at him, as if he's unsure how Bruce is going to act next, and shifts slightly on one foot to the other.

 

“My names Bruce. Are you hungry Terry?” this time Terry nods, a little bit more enthusiastically then Jason would have. Bruce smiles at that and stands, unlocks the Rolls and opens the back passenger door for Terry.

 

“I know this nice diner, we can go if you’d like.”

 

Terry stands there for a moment, weighing his options, and Bruce doesn’t think he’s gonna take it until the boy quietly says, “Okay,” and crawls in.

 

Bruce gets in the car himself and drives them towards a diner that sits on the corner. A quaint little thing that has the All-American charm of classic diners. They get a booth in the back, and Bruce tells Terry he can get whatever he wants which ends up as a burger and fries and a root-beer float.

 

Bruce just gets coffee for himself, and listens to Terry as he talks.

 

His baby brother Matthew was _immediately_ adopted, or so Terry says. ‘ _Matty was cute, but they didn’t want me, ‘cause I just cause trouble._ ’ Terry says around mouthfuls of his burger. He talks about his foster home, with a woman with a foul, sickly sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes and had a few choice words about his mother’s asian heritage.

 

He talks about how he left because he was scared, and he didn’t want to be hurt like some of the older kids were, so he had to leave. He looked at his choices, and decided that he had a better chance on Gotham’s streets.

 

Bruce can’t help but feel like he’s let Terry down somehow. He should have followed his gut when he first saw the kid, taken him in.

 

He won’t fail him again this time.

 

Terry falls asleep in the booth, belly full, warm and comfortable, and Bruce is assuming that Terry’s the kind of kid who trusts easy, and if that doesn’t stab Bruce in the heart. This kid with a good heart, and if it had been the _wrong_ kind of people who found him, well, Bruce doesn’t want to think about that.

 

He knows how terrible people can be, especially in Gotham.

 

Bruce picks him up easy, and Terry weighs next to nothing.

 

He leaves money on the table, and buckles Terry in the Royce and calls Gordon up before he drives back to the manor. He tells the Commissioner about finding Terry, what the boy told him about his foster home. Bruce trusts Gordon, trusts him to take a look into what Bruce says.

 

And if he doesn’t, well, Batman certainly has some things to look into.

 

As he drives up to the manor, Bruce thinks about the boy sleeping in the backseat. He won’t wake him up, decides that it will be something he take cares of in the morning, getting the proper paperwork and speaking to Terry. Damian will be jealous, Bruce thinks, he won't be eager to share Dick with this new 'brother' of his, even though Bruce is positive Dick is going to take to Terry instantly. His other children, well, Bruce isn't worried.

 

Right now all that matters is taking Terry upstairs and tucking him in, and seeing that he sleeps.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there were a bunch of different variations of this chapt before i wrote it, one with terrys pov but a completely different tone, and one tht i wrote in my phone with so many typos it was kind of hard to read
> 
> i rlly hope u guys enjoy this though

Terry took to the manor as well as could be expected. Which... wasn’t very well at all. He was nervous and distrustful, understandably so, Bruce hadn’t bothered to explain anything to Terry when he had fallen asleep the night before.

 

Maybe Bruce was losing his touch.

 

At first, Terry refused to see Bruce, believing the man to have taken Terry to the manor for some bastardized version of the hunger games. It took a good chunk of the morning to convince Terry that he was safe, that Bruce wouldn’t hurt him.

 

When the boy cracked the door open, it ended up with Terry coming face to face with Ace, who had squeezed his way under Bruce’s arm to see who was there.

 

And then Terry screamed, slammed the door again, and it took the rest of the morning for Bruce to coax the boy out, Alfred joining only after dragging the dog away.

 

After that, it was easier, and Bruce was able to get him out with promises of food and new clothes. 

 

And now that they were both there, seated in the dining room with a late lunch in front of both of them, Bruce caught himself at a loss for words.

 

Terry was shovelling food into his mouth, like this would be his last meal for a while, and for all Terry knew it was. That after this Bruce would give him some old clothes and say ‘Bye kid! Nice getting to know you!’ and kick him to the curb.

 

Which, was just a little heart breaking.

 

Bruce wasn’t a perfect man, he knew this. That he’s made dozens of mistakes, especially with his own children, but Bruce wanted to think of himself as a good father, a good person. 

 

“Terry-”

 

“Thish ish real good Mishter Wayne!” Terry says, mouth full of pasta, tomato sauce staining his face and shirt. Bruce can remember nights with Dick and Jason, when dinner time was a chance to catch up on the day and they spent it together. Now his family is all over the place, and while Damian still lives at the manor, they don’t eat together much nowadays, and most of his sons time is taken up with the Titans.

 

“Well, you’ll have to thank Alfred for it.” Bruce smiles a bit at Terry, as the boy continues to shovel food into his mouth, and he holds back a laugh. “Terry- I’d like to talk to you about something.”

 

Terry looks up at him, eyes wide, and swallows thickly, like he’s a deer caught in the headlights. And Bruce laughs at that, a soft chuckle as Terry squirms in his seat.

 

Terry sits straight as a board, hands gripping the chair to push him up and run at a moment's notice, and Bruce feels for this kid who shouldn’t be worried if an adult is going to hurt him.

 

“Would you like to live here Terry?” Bruce asks, and the nervous look the boy had previously is now one mixed with confusion.

 

“What?” he asks, and Bruce fights himself to not smile.

 

“Would you like to live here, at the manor? It alright if you don’t-” and Bruce wants him to know, needs to make him understand that Bruce just wants the best for him. “But I won’t let you live on the street again. It’s not fair to you.”

 

Terry blinks at him, and then schools his face into something serious, which, really doesn’t get him far with the tomato sauce all over his cheeks.

 

“I’m used to it.” he says, and Bruce shakes his head. This kid who reminds him so much of Jason in so many ways. The tough little boys, who don’t need anyone’s help, the kids who look out for themselves.

 

“You shouldn’t have to be Terry. You’re ten, you should be concerned with school and friends, not on whether you can find enough food or where you’re going to sleep.”

 

Terry’s quiet, looking at his hands which are now folded in his lap.

 

“You don’t have to stay here… if you don’t want to.” Even though Bruce wants it. Terry deserves the best, a good and comfortable life, but even Bruce can see that he can’t make the boy stay if he doesn’t want to.

 

“I… I can stay here though, right? If I really want to, right?” And Terry looks up at him, blue eyes wet and there's a slight tremble to his lower lip.

 

Bruce stands, and kneels next to the chair Terry is sitting in, a hand on the boys shoulder.

 

“Of course you can.” Bruce says, finally.

 

“And.. and you won’t get rid of me if I’m bad, right?” Terry sniffs, and rubs at his face with his one hand, the other gripping his jeans.

 

“Of course not.” It wasn’t something Bruce enjoyed, but even when he fought with his own children, they always had a place at the manor. “This would be your home as much as mine Terry.”

 

To Bruce, it’s important he knows that, knows that, whatever happens, that the manor will always be home to him.

 

“Okay,” Terry’s voice is soft, and he speaks after what feels like hours to Bruce, even though logically, he knows it’s only been a few minutes. The boys face is messy, with tear streaks and red cheeks from both crying and left over tomato sauce. 

 

Terry needs a bath, Bruce realizes, and as soon as he’s calm, Alfred comes in with a warm towel and moves Bruce out of the way to clean his face.

 

“Well Master Terry, I believe a nice bath is in order, hm?” And Terry nods, after sparing a glance at Bruce. Alfred seems to have a way with all his children, and Terry is no exception. He goes with the man with little hesitance, holding tightly onto the older man’s hand as they walk upstairs, and leave Bruce alone.

 

He wastes no time in calling up the right people, lawyers and such, and getting the paperwork needed to legally adopt Terry.

  
Before the week is over, Terrence McGinnis has  _ Wayne _ attached to his name, and a brand new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im planning to make this sort of like a series of chapters with like... i dont want to say no plot bc the plot is eventually terry becomes robins (AT SOME POINT...) and how he deals with his new family and everything and like how the batfam grows close with him and yadda yadda
> 
> more like loosely interconnected chapters that all lead up into one another, and the next chapter is gonna introduce damian to terry, maybe about a week or so after this chapter.
> 
> the first chapter i had for this was from terrys pov, and it was pretty funny but had a completely different tone than the first chapter had and i felt that it didnt really fit? it just p much had terrys outlook on it, and ill do a chapter in his pov bc i plan on switching around, but we'll deal with that when i get to it
> 
> i mean what do i know about writing i mainly draw im always worried im doing something wrong so, shrugs
> 
> i do hope u all enjoy this tho


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had a little bit of inspiration on this chapter, specifically the conversation reference with damian and tim, damian being in college, and the 'conversation' (its rlly one sided) with damian and terry while theyre having dinner from other fics and headcanons i saw. 
> 
> i cant remember them exactly or where i read them right now, but if i do end up finding them ill link it

The old worn steps were familiar, and the large mahogany doors were a welcome sight. A sight that told Damian Wayne he was  _ home _ .

 

It had only been a few short months, with both the Titans, and his now, new, responsibilities as a full time college student, but they had left Damian with a weariness that he was unaccustomed to. 

 

Sure, his classes were easy, almost laughable, and most, if not  _ all _ his peers at what Damian hesitate to call a place of  _ learning _ were annoying. Except a few. 

 

And of course, there were his Titans to work with. Missions and personal cases and time spent with friends, and wasn’t that just something in and of itself.

 

But, he supposed, there was nothing better than being home. 

 

Perhaps he’d call Richard tomorrow, and visit him. Damian highly doubted that the man would be at the manor, it was too early in the night for it, and after all Nightwing was in Bludhaven. Along with that  _ woman _ , but, Damian wouldn’t dwell on it.

 

Not at the moment, anyhow.

 

Damian let himself into the manor with little announcement. He expected- well he expected Pennyworth to be there. He knew father was either in his study or down in the cave, but the old butler always had a suspicious way to know when any of the former children of the manor were there.

 

And everything felt well- different. Not in a good way either. There wasn’t the calmness that Damian had grown used to- at least not when it was just the three of them. And Damian’s pets of course. 

 

Even Titus, who had always greeted him when he came home, was nowhere to be seen. 

 

Damian slid into a fighting stance, a batarang in his hand (and no matter what his father may say, at least it wasn’t the  _ most _ dangerous weapon on his person) and his eyes narrowed as he slowly entered the foyer. 

 

And as if on cue, something ran from around the corner and the batarang went flying, and the intruder screamed, socked feet flying out from under him as he tried to dodge it.

 

It didn’t hit, of course it didn’t hit, Damian was not aiming to maim him, unlike what his younger self may had done years ago. He merely wanted to distract the intruder, long enough to get a read on the situation and plan accordingly, except, this intruder wasn’t one that Damian expected, so to speak.

 

It was a child. Black hair and blue eyes, dressed in socks, jeans, and a t-shirt reading  _ Star Wars _ in white.

 

Damian stared at him, the child stared back, and Damian felt something like a weight settle into his stomach.

 

Damn Drake, for telling him, warning him even (even if Drake was being a bastard and taunting him about it), and _damn_ _Damian_ for not taking it like the serious matter it should have been.

 

Drake’s words rang in his head.  _ Just don’t act surprised when you come home and some kids in your seat. _

 

His father had gone and taken in another child.

 

(And really, his father had a type. Blue eyes, black hair, pale, it was a little disconcerting)

 

The boy just stared at him. Titus came walking from around the boy, and settling next to Damian. His father's dog, Ace, did the same, but sat dutifully near the child.

 

As if on cue, Damian and the boy opened their mouths only to scream-

 

“ _ BRUCE! _ ”

 

“ _ FATHER! _ ”  
  


* * *

 

Terry. His name was  _ Terry McGinnis _ , and if that wasn’t enough he now formerly had Wayne attached to his last name.

 

That was  _ Damian’s _ name damn it.

 

Damian sat across from his father, who looked years older since he had last seen him, which was ridiculous, because Damian had only seen him a little more than two months ago. But here he was, hair greying round his temples, and wrinkles pulling at the corners of his eyes. But…

 

But he looked  _ happier _ , and damn it if that didn’t hurt a little bit. Damian sat across from him, arms crossed as he glared. His father sat, hands clasped together, at Damian’s grandfather’s desk, just simply staring back.

 

“What are you exactly intending to do father?” Damian said, shifting slightly, and he was a little angry that it took so long for him to find out. The boy had been there for a month, a  _ month _ , and Damian hadn’t even known.

 

Of course, he didn’t make it a habit to check gossip magazines and tabloids. 

 

But still, it was a little insulting it had taken him so long to find out. What if Terry had gone into his  _ room _ while he was gone! What if he touched Damian’s things! If the brat had broken anything, he couldn’t promise blood wouldn’t be shed.

 

“What do you mean Damian.” his father replied, same cool tone as always.

 

Damian narrowed his eyes, held himself a little straighter, his glare never leaving him. Titus slept beside him, the dog older, and much like his father, grey peppered around the dog's muzzle and eyes. He had gotten so much older.

 

It made him sad to see.

 

“You know what I mean.” He said finally, and stood abruptly. “He’s not going to be Robin!” No, that belonged to  _ him _ . That boy, that child, had no right to Damian’s name. His birthright, and he wondered if this is how Richard felt when he came home one day and Todd was suddenly there. Replacing him. 

 

Maybe this is how Todd felt when he had seen Drake.

 

“No one’s taking Robin from you Damian.” His father said, watching him.

 

“Then what is  _ he _ doing here!” Damian demanded. “Father you can’t just take in another child!” His father damn well could, Damian knew that, but, it wasn’t right.

 

“Damian he needed a home, there was no where else for him to go!” And this was not how Damian wanted to spend his short weekend home. Being, being replaced by some skinny child, and fighting with his father.

 

“Please, there are places for him to go! It didn’t have to be here!” and why can’t his father just  _ see  _ that.

 

“Damian he was on the street, he was being abused I couldn’t let him return to that!” 

 

Damian opened his mouth, a rebuke on his tongue, and then the door opened and Ace walked in, sitting dutifully at his father’s side.

 

Terry poked his head in, eyes a little wide, a tad glassy, and said in what was possibly the smallest and meekest voice Damian has ever heard.

 

“Alfred said to get your butts into the dining room ‘cause it’s dinner.” 

 

* * *

 

Dinner was. Silent. Awkward. 

 

Usually dinner was silent, when it was just the two of them, and it was a comfortable silence. Usually his father would ask how his schooling was, or the titans, but today was different.

 

Okay, so sue him.

 

He was making an effort not to stare at either his father or the boy, but he was angry. Rightfully so, in his eyes.

 

He sent a glare at his father, who gave Damian a pointed look, and Terry was sitting there, playing with his food.

 

“Would you like more water Master Terence?” Alfred asked, coming by to check on the boy.

 

“No thank you Mister Pennyworth.” Alfred gave a short nod, and retreated back into the kitchen after giving the child’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

 

“ _ Tt _ .”

 

Damian leaned forward, and his father’s eyes narrowed as he watched him. 

 

“Damian…” his name was but a little warning, and Terry watched him warily. Ah, so the boy did have some instincts to him.

 

“You are not needed here McGinnis. After dinner I can take you to a very nice orphanage.” Terry visibly paled at that, his mouth hanging open slightly.

 

“Damian!” His father stood, hands slamming on the table, his voice little more than a growl.

 

“I know a good one, they will treat you nicely, so you don’t need to be  _ here _ .” And Damian finished it off with a glare, and Terry let out a meek little ‘ _ eep! _ ’ before sliding out from his chair and darting away.

 

Good.

 

Then his father grabbed his shoulder and dragged him from the dining room, and towards the study, slamming the door behind him.

 

“What was that!”

 

“I was merely letting him know where he was needed father. No need to thank me.” And oh, he was angry. Both of them were.

 

“Damian,” his father said, and he sounded enraged and tired at the same time, and that hurt Damian somewhere in his chest. And then the angry look from his father’s face fell and he suddenly looked years older.

 

“I know you’re a good person Damian, so why are you  _ intentionally _ scaring your brother.”

 

“He is  _ not _ my brother! We are not even related! I am your son, not him!” and his father just sighed, shaking his head and leaning against his desk, hands rubbing over his face.

 

“Damian, he did nothing to you, so why…” and Damian wanted to laugh, his father looked confused. So much for the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’.

 

“I am not letting him replace me.” He stated, arms crossed.

 

“Damian…” 

 

“I won’t. I am not being replaced. I refuse to let myself be pushed to the side like-” and Damian was shaking, he was so, so angry, and then his father’s arms wrapped around him, bringing him close and holding him tight.

 

And, well, this wasn’t an outcome he expected. 

 

“Damian, Terry isn’t replacing anyone.” He said, again.

 

“Then  _ why _ is he here?” and Damian refused to admit how needy he sounded.

 

“Because he needed a home, and I failed him once already.”

 

Damian pulled back, confused. He stared at his father, searching for answers. His father smoothed out Damian’s shirt, looking at him with this strange look in his eye and it made him feel like a child all over again.

 

“You’ve gotten so big.” He said finally, and Damian resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

 

“You are avoiding the question.” And he pouted, and his father smiled, of all things, at that.

 

“His parents died years ago Damian. I should have taken him in then, but I didn’t, and he got hurt because of it.”

 

“It was not  _ your _ job to take care of him, no need to saddle yourself with every stray you find father.” But the man just shook his head.

 

“Damian, they were murdered. Just like how my own…” And Damian understood. Not fully, but he got it, at least what was important. 

 

“I see.”

 

His father nodded, and then his gaze hardened as he crossed his arms, “Terry is staying, no matter how you feel about it Damian.” Damian only nodded.

 

“I want you to find him, and go apologize,” Then his gaze softened, and he squeezed his son's shoulder. “You’re his big brother now Damian. He’s never had a big brother before, and I know you have more than enough experience.”

 

Damian’s own brother’s were… something else. But he supposed, that Richard was something to aspire to. Maybe Drake, perhaps, Todd he wasn’t sure but… Damian could learn to be an older brother. Maybe. It wouldn’t have been the hardest thing he’d done.

 

“Wait,” Damian said, before his father could leave the study. “The others- do they know…?” 

 

“I’ve been keeping it quiet for now… they know some of it, not the whole story.” And well, that made sense. He wanted Terry to get comfortable before being introduced to many different people. Damian could understand that.

 

* * *

 

Damian found Terry hiding underneath his bed, in Terry’s room. In the short weeks since his arrival, it had been decorated brightly. Posters from television shows and movies decorated the wall. A handheld gaming device sat untouched on the nightstand, and comics and books, toys, and clothes littered the floor. His bed was unmade, and Damian expected that the boy would hear a lecture soon enough.

 

“McGinnis.” Damian said, crouching down so that he was face to face with Terry, and the boy yelled and aimed a rather well placed kick towards Damian’s head.

 

It was easily avoided though, and Damian’s reflexes were fast, grabbing Terry’s leg and dragging him out.

 

Terry yelled, and kicked at Damian and untrained as he was, Terry was  _ fast _ and hit hard.

 

He had room for potential, and hell, Damian was somewhat looking forward to what his father would do with him.

 

He wouldn’t be Robin, Damian would make sure of that, but, something else maybe.

 

“I only want to talk-” he grunted, when Terry kicked him in the gut, and scrambled away grabbing the umbrella by his bedside as he put distance between them.

 

“You want to take me to the orphanage! I’m not goin’ there, I got something good here and I’m not gonna let you take me away!” he held the umbrella in a defensive stance, and Damian had not doubt he’d try to beat him with it if he got close.

 

“I said I wished to talk!” 

 

“I’ll scream! I’ll kick and scream and then Bruce’ll come beat your ass!” and Damian fought the urge to roll his eyes.

 

“I wanted to  _ apologize _ you idiot.” And that seemed to shock Terry, giving Damian enough time to leap over the bed and wrench the umbrella from the boy’s grasp. Terry let out an undignified noise, and moved to run but Damian was quick to grab him. 

 

“Enough of this nonsense! You’re not getting out unless I-” And Damian gasped in pain and Damian released him, and Terry ran to the door, and turned to glare at him.

 

“Did you just  _ bite  _ me you little brat!”

 

Terry smirked, sticking his tongue out and giving him the bird, before running out the door.

 

“Get back here!” And Damian was out after him, socked feet skidding on the floor before taking off down the stairs, Ace at his heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my one big fear with this chapter is that i wrote damian wrong. my take on him was that hes a little bit older now, a little bit more experienced. hes spending more time with the titans and away at school 
> 
> (okay hes 17 here but im justifying that as hes smart so he got into college a little early ok)
> 
> i didnt want to make damian ooc, and i unfortunately dont have a good grip on his character other than other fics and the n52 movies. my take on this is that he's a little jealous, and hes a good kid if not a little self centered, and hes just a little afraid that his fathers trying to replace him, not unlike what happened with his brothers.
> 
> in this instance, he doesnt want the title of robin being taken from him, or really his place as his fathers youngest son, but he comes to terms with it. i think damian would end up being very protective of terry, and sees the potential he would have in their lifestyle even though bruce doesnt want terry to have anything to do with it
> 
> sorry bruce thts not ur choice lmao
> 
> also some characters feat. from yj might come into play? this isnt exactly a young justice fic, but the lady damian mentions who hangs around dick may or may not be artemis crock bc im a filthy shipper and i really think theyre fucking cute together ok, but, thats not the point of this and prolly wont be brought up much
> 
> anyways, as always, i hope u guys enjoyed this chpt

**Author's Note:**

> im sort of unsure on whether i should make this a series, or turn this into a chapter fic. mybe a fic where ecery chapter is loosely interconnected? 
> 
> i imagine this au to be in a universe where its like. idk bruce is 50, terrys 10, its not so like... drastic as bruce being in his like 90s like in bats beyond mentoring terry. i mean, bruce is still older and also mary and warren fuckin died but like. terry ends up getting adopted? idk, i really need to work it out
> 
> the purpose of this au is to really like. i just love the thought of terry being robin, its eternally pleasing to me (but now thinking abt it i dont even know if itll come to the robin part- oh who am i kidding)
> 
> i ended up sort of combining aspects of jasons background into terrys background, and stuff from the show (like tht batbeyond ep in jlu, where terrys parents were supposed to get murdered while they were leaving a movie with terry) mostly like terry ending up a street kid and stealing and stuff. i imagine him as a sweet little boy, maybe with more issues and a lil more violence, but very much like jason where it sorta hurts bruce to look at him
> 
> anyways lemme know wht u think


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